The present invention relates to front and back rows of seats provided in a vehicle rearward passenger compartment behind a driver seat, and more particularly, to a vehicle seat system in which a back-row seat is folded below a front-row seat for storage of the back-row seat.
A vehicle seat system in which a back-row seat is folded immediately below a front-row seat for storage of the back-row seat is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. SHO-63-47545 entitled xe2x80x9cStorage Structure for Vehicle Double Row Type Folding Seatsxe2x80x9d or in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI-3-118241 entitled xe2x80x9cVehicle Seat System.xe2x80x9d
The storage structure of SHO-63-47545 includes a first seat as a front-row seat and a second seat as a back-row seat which are disposed on the floor of the vehicle rearward passenger compartment. The first seat includes a cushion, a backrest attached to the rear end of the cushion in a foldable manner, a pair of left and right front legs attached to the rear surface of the front end of the cushion in a forwardly tiltable manner, and a U-shaped rear leg attached to the rear surface of the rear of the cushion, being foldable onto the rear surface of the cushion. The second seat includes a cushion, a backrest attached to the rear of the cushion, being foldable onto the upper surface of the cushion, a U-shaped front leg in a plan view rotatably attached to the second cushion, extending between the rear end of the first seat and the front end of the second seat, and a U-shaped storage arm in a plan view rotatably attached to the front leg, extending beneath the first seat.
With this storage structure, the first seat is tilted forward on a hinge on which the front legs of the first seat are rotatably fixed to the floor, and then the backrest of the second seat is folded onto the upper surface of the cushion and forwardly turned around the front end of the storage arm for folding, so that the second seat is stored immediately below the first seat in a horizontally folded state.
In the above storage structure, however, the pair of left and right front legs and the U-shaped rear leg of the first seat are configured to be fixed on the vehicle floor, and therefore the first seat is not slidable in a vehicle longitudinal direction. If the pair of left and right front legs and the rear leg were made slidable in a vehicle longitudinal direction in the above structure, sliding of the first seat would disadvantageously cause the front legs and the rear leg to interfere with the second seat folded and stored immediately below the first seat.
Next, in the seat system of HEI-3-118241, a second seat is longitudinally movably fixed to a vehicle floor portion via a mounting eye and a rear seat is attached on a hinge to a rear floor portion. The rear seat is turned 180 degrees on the hinge in a folded state and positioned immediately below the second seat. The second seat is slidable to the rear with the rear seat folded.
However, this seat system requires, in turning the rear seat 180 degrees in the folded state, supporting the seat back to prevent the seat back from being detached from the seat cushion, providing poor usability. Further, a cut is formed in the rear seat for pulling back the second seat, worsening the appearance of the rear seat.
It is thus desired to allow a vehicle front-row seat to be longitudinally slidable even when a back-row seat is folded and stored immediately below the front seat.
According to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle seat system, which comprises: a first-row seat as a driver seat; a second-row seat disposed rearward of the first-row seat, the second-row seat being able to be slid and reclined in a vehicle longitudinal direction and also being able to be forwardly turned up; and a third-row seat disposed rearward of the second-row seat, the third-row seat being forwardly movable with a seat back folded onto a seat cushion and being able to be stored within a space immediately below the second-row seat; wherein, the second-row seat can be slid and reclined in a vehicle longitudinal direction even when the second-row seat is brought back onto the third-row seat folded and stored within the space.
Thus, in the present invention, forwardly turning up the second-row seat allows the movement of the folded third-row seat onto the floor and the storage of the folded third-row seat within a mechanism for fixing the second-row seat to the floor. Further, when the second-row seat is brought back onto the stored-state third-row seat, the second-row seat is connected to the mechanism for fixation thereof. Thus the second-row seat slides and reclines without interfering with the stored third-row seat.
Rear end portions of the second- and third-row seats are releasably engaged with the vehicle.